Dean's Green
by Milk Maid
Summary: Lit. They have so much in common - but they're so far apart. Can Rory and Jess get it together? What happens when the schemes of Rory's ex add to the pressure?
1. Chapter One

**_Disclaimer: The Gilmore Girls is the property of the WB. This story is a work of fan fiction and intended only for fan amusement._**   


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**Dean's Green**

Rory got off the bus from school. She was practically bent in two because her backpack was so heavy with homework and schoolbooks. She could hardly look where she was going. She ran into something. It felt like a brick wall. She fell down. 

She had bumped into Dean. Unbeknownst to Rory, Dean had been hanging around, waiting for her to get off the bus. He was plotting to steal her away from Jess, who he hated with a passion akin to the fire of a thousand suns. The first step in his plan was to hang around everywhere Rory was so she would have to notice him. Dean crouched down. "Hey, Rory," he said. "I'm sorry for bumping into you." He was sort of laughing inside, because he'd done it on purpose. He wanted to touch her. The way she was sitting, he could also sort of see up her skirt, but she didn't know that. Rory was very childish that way. She didn't understand the effect she had on guys. 

"Dean!" said Rory. For a second she looked like she was going to be mad, but in the end she smiled at him. That was just the way Rory was, too nice for words. "What are you doing here?" 

"I have to pick my sister up from her jazz class at Miss Patty's," Dean said. He got a brilliant idea. "Why don't you come with me? Clara is begging and crying to see you all the time. She's driving me crazy! I tried to explain to her that we broke up, but she's too little to understand why you aren't around all the time like you used to be." 

"The poor thing!" said Rory, instantly sympathetic. "Of course I'll come. I just have to tell Jess. I was supposed to meet him at the diner, you know." 

"No time," said Dean. "Clara's class is over in two minutes. If I don't go get her, she'll wander around and get into trouble. She's a little retarded that way." 

"Ooh," said Rory, frowning prettily. "I guess Jess won't mind if I go off with my ex-boyfriend and don't tell him where I'm going ahead of time. He knows we're just friends." 

"Oh, hey, Jess is a terrific guy," Dean said. "I decided that five minutes ago." 

"Great. But will you help me up?" Rory asked. "You pack a wallop, mister." 

"Well, I am the center on the Stars Hollow hockey team," Dean said proudly. He gave Rory his hand and helped her to her feet. He took her backpack and carried it, so she would be reminded of the fact that he was sweet and did things like carry heavy stuff for her. 

"I've been meaning to ask you about that," Rory said as they walked away. She was limping a little. "I don't know much about hockey, but how come you can't do that skidding thing with your feet? You know, where there's a big shower of ice?" 

Dean looked back over his shoulder. He could see Jess in the window of Luke's Diner, and boy did he look pissed. Dean smiled to himself. He was hoping he could make Jess mad enough at Rory to hit her. Then who would she run to? Me, that's who, he thought with satisfaction. "You mean come to a stop?" he asked Rory. "Well, I'm working on it."   


That night, Rory was deeply engrossed in her homework. She had forgotten to call Jess and explain where she had gone after school. As far as she knew, Jess was none the wiser. She was sitting at her desk, wearing pajama bottoms, a tank top and big fuzzy slippers. She looked adorable. She had her hair piled on top of her head in a messy bun, and was chewing on her pencil. She was turning the pages in an enormous book, the title of which is unimportant, and you wouldn't care if I told you. She sort of heard the doorbell, but she wasn't really paying attention, so she was surprised when Jess appeared at her bedroom door. "Oh, hey," she said. "Look, I'm studying. Maybe I could call you later?" 

"Rory, we were supposed to get together after school," Jess said. 

"Oh. I forgot." Rory started to look anxious. 

"Maybe getting knocked down by Dean gave you amnesia," Jess said. 

"Jess it was nothing. We went to see his sister." 

Jess snorted. "That annoying little brat! So that was his excuse this time, huh?" 

Rory started to get angry. "His excuse for what?" 

"To see you! Rory, how can you be so naive? He's trying to win you back!" 

"Jess, no, Dean has a girlfriend. Haven't you seen them together at school?" 

Jess couldn't answer that. He had been skipping school a lot to work at Wal Mart. 

"Jess," Rory said. "I don't want to be in a fight with you, okay? So can we end this right here? Plus, I really do have to get back to my studying." 

Suddenly, Jess got very frustrated. He took Rory's arm and pulled her to her feet. "Let's forget about Dean and make out," he said. He started to kiss Rory, wrapping his arms around her waist. He ran his hands through her hair. 

"Oh, Jess. I really do have to study." Rory was out of breath. His dark kisses had that effect on her. She always wanted to let him do more, but she had to make herself stop. 

"Get on the bed with me," he said, tying to pull her down. 

"My mom is in the next room!" 

"Lorelai went up to bed after she let me in. I could spend the whole night, and she'd never know." 

Rory was shocked. Why was he suddenly pressuring her? She didn't know that Jess was jealous of Dean, and afraid of losing her. He wanted to make love to her to make her his. In a way, Jess wouldn't have minded if Rory got pregnant with his baby, because then, no matter what happened, he would always be in her life. Jess thought Rory was too good for him, and at some point, she would leave him for sure. 

Rory started to push him away. "Jess, we can't! Not now, not like this! Please don't force me!" 

Jess got angry. "I'm not trying to force you! Is that what you think of me?" 

Now Rory was upset, and a little scared. "No, that's not what I meant! I mean you're pressuring me!" 

"But what you said is not to force you, like you thought I was going to rape you or something!" Jess let go of her. He was very, very angry. "You think I'm some kind of thug, don't you?" 

Rory put out her hand, and tried to touch his cheek, but he turned away. "Jess, please don't be this way. This is just crossed wires, or something." 

Jess gave her a dark look. "Is it? Because from where I'm standing, it looks like I'm getting the signal loud and clear." 

The two of them were silent for a moment, looking at each other. Rory was so pretty, it made Jess's heart ache in his chest. She was so lovely and pure, and he would never have her. 

Jess was so dark and mysterious, Rory wanted to know all his secrets. But she was a certain type of girl, who lived a certain type of way, and there were limits to how far she was willing to go. 

Finally, Jess said, "Whatever. Maybe I'll see you tomorrow." 

"Oh, Jess," Rory said, as he left. She sat on the edge of her bed, staring at the floor.   


Across town, Dean, who had no idea what had just transpired, rolled over in his sleep. He was having a very satisfying dream about Rory. Let's just say she was naked and leave it at that.   
**** **To Be Continued**


	2. Chapter Two

**_~ Chapter Two ~_****__**

The next morning, on the way to school, Rory stopped by the diner to speak to Jess. She nodded at Miss Patty and Babette, who were sitting morosely by the window, hunched over a skimpy breakfast of dry toast and coffee. "Hey, doll," Babette said absently. 

Timidly, Rory approached the counter. She felt she had to have a serious talk with Jess, but she had no idea what to say. The truth of the matter was, she had been thinking of having sex with him. She had been thinking about it _a lot._ It just hadn't been the right moment. She had been distracted. She hadn't felt sexy. Wasn't it supposed to be romantic, rather than something you just did on the spur of the moment? 

Luke was standing with his arms crossed over his chest. He had a little wad of toilet paper stuck to his chin. He'd recently taken up shaving. He wasn't used to it, and frequently cut himself. Rory smiled at him. "I think having an open sore is a violation of the Health Code." 

Luke scowled. "Humph. You want breakfast?   
  
"I wanted to talk to Jess." Rory looked around. "Is he here?" 

Luke poured her a cup of coffee. He went over to the stairs and shouted, "Jess! Get your ass down here!" 

Rory sat on one of the stools at the counter, tucking her skirt around her legs. She crossed her ankles. She picked up the coffee cup and looked at it. She sort of pretended to take a sip, and then put it back on the counter. She looked up when she saw Jess come down the stairs. "Hi," she said. 

"Hi," said Jess. He stood there looking at her. He wasn't sure what to say. He wanted to turn around, go back upstairs, and give himself more time to prepare. He reflected that he really should have planned ahead. What does a guy say to a girl who has shot him down? A girl he's tried to get into the sack, when she plainly wasn't ready? Especially when the driving force behind his efforts was jealousy of her perfect former boyfriend? I am _not_ jealous of Dean, he told himself. 

Luke raised an eyebrow. "What the hell is wrong with you two?" When no answer was forthcoming, he asked, "Rory, do you want some breakfast?" 

Rory was startled. She'd forgotten Luke was there. "Oh, okay. How about some pancakes?" 

"Felix!" Luke shouted. "Pancakes!" 

From the kitchen came, "Okay, boss." There was a sizzling sound as batter hit the griddle. Felix was Luke's new short order cook. He was an ex-convict from Louisiana with tattoos covering 30% of his body. Felix had moved to Stars Hollow to start over. He was renting a room from Kirk's mom. Kirk was very fond of Felix, because he was the only one who could keep Cat Kirk in line. Felix may or may not become important to this story later. 

Jess, who had been letting Rory twist in the wind, finally decided to speak. "Are you really going to eat those pancakes, or are you just going to pretend to eat them and then say you have to run to catch your bus? Because we could eliminate the middle man here." 

"Jeez, what was I thinking?" Luke leaned into the kitchen. "Felix, cancel the pancakes!" 

"Hey!" Felix shouted. "I already poured the batter!" 

"I guess you're right," Rory said to Jess. "I never do eat anything, not really." 

"Someone is eating these pancakes!" Felix called. He hated it when people said they were going to do something, and then didn't do it. That was why he went to prison in the first place. 

"Someone will eat the pancakes!" Luke shouted. Felix was moody, and a lot of trouble, but he was a great short order cook. Luke considered his reflection in the side of the milkshake machine. He peeled the toilet paper off his face. It started to bleed. He looked at Rory and Jess, a line of blood dribbling down his chin. "Are you guys fighting? Jess?" 

"No," said Jess. 

"Yes," said Rory. 

"What did you do, now?" Luke asked Jess. 

Jess was irritated. "Jeez! Why is it always me?" 

"It's nothing," Rory said quickly. 

"Are you sure?" Jess asked her. 

She looked at him. "I'm sorry," she said. 

Jess was sorry too, but he didn't say so. That wasn't his style. "Okay," he said. He leaned over the counter and gave her a kiss. Rory smiled at him. She took his hand, and kissed him back. Jess tugged on her bottom lip with his teeth, thinking that she was so cute he wanted to carry her upstairs and throw her in his bed. He moved closer to the counter, so Rory wouldn't see anything she shouldn't see. 

"Jess," Luke said, dabbing at his chin with a rag, "refills at table six." 

"In a minute," Jess choked out. 

"Are you okay?" Rory asked, concerned. 

"Now, Jess." Luke was starting to get grouchy. 

"Give me second," Jess gasped. He pulled away from Rory's soft, pink lips, thinking: _two times two is four, four times four is - oh man!___

"Jess?" Rory asked. His face was red. He sort of looked like he was dying. Rory bit her lip and looked at her lap, blushing. That only made matters worse for Jess, because Rory was very pretty when she blushed. 

There was a bang. Rory looked over her shoulder, and Jess looked up. Dean had come into the diner. The problem Jess had been having? That went away in a hurry. "Hey, Rory," Dean said cheerfully. Over her head, he smiled at Jess. "Jess." 

"Dean," said Jess, his jaw clenched. 

"Dean," Rory said. She looked at Jess. He didn't seem too bothered. She turned back to Dean and smiled up at him with real warmth. 

Dean grinned at her. "Still sore?" 

Rory shot Jess a worried glance. "I'm okay," she said, turning back to Dean. 

"We sort of ran into each other last night," Dean explained to Jess. 

Rory swiveled in her seat, to watch Jess's reaction. "Literally," she added. 

"I knocked her off her feet," Dean said, and his tone was pregnant with subtext. 

"You should watch out for yourself," Jess said stiffly. "It would be a shame if somebody got _hurt_." 

In the middle, Rory wasn't catching everything. She would have had to twist around each time one of the boys spoke, and look him in the eye. She wasn't prepared to do that anymore. "How are you?" she asked Dean. "What's up?" 

"Aw, gee." Dean rubbed his head, and put on a beleaguered expression. "You remember when you told me you'd help me with my college application? I'm kind of in a bottleneck. I was wondering if I could take you up on it?" 

Behind Rory, Jess shook his head in exasperation. He shot Dean a knowing look. 

Rory looked up at Dean. She didn't see anything wrong with the request. He had asked her right in front of Jess. Just to be sure, she looked over at Jess. Dourly, Jess shrugged. "Okay," she told Dean. "Sure. Oh, there's my bus!" Propping herself on her fingertips, she leaned over the counter and gave Jess a quick kiss. 

Dean had to ball up his fists and put them in his pockets to keep himself from touching her. That Chilton skirt was a lot shorter than it used to be. 

"Bye!" Rory called out, seemingly to everyone. She ran out of the diner, with her skirt fluttering and her long hair streaming behind her. Both boys watched. Even a casual observer would have seen them shift uncomfortably, swallowing hard. 

The minute she was gone, Jess said, "Smooth. You're a real piece of work." 

Dean shrugged. "I don't know what you're talking about." 

"She's not going to fall for your act," Jess said. 

Dean gave him a dark look. "She fell for yours." 

"You dumped her," Jess said. "And you did it in front of the whole town." 

Dean smiled. "Rory doesn't like to fail." 

"What's that supposed to mean?" 

"Only that I've known her a lot longer than you have." 

"And?" 

"Getting dumped buy her boyfriend in front of the whole town is a pretty big failure." 

"What the _hell_ is that supposed to mean?" Jess had his hands on the counter. He could have been getting ready to leap over and grab Dean by the throat. 

"Pancakes up!" Felix called. 

Dean bent down and looked Jess in the eye. "You just think she's yours," he whispered. 

"Break it up, you two," Luke said. "Dean? Did you want something? Or did you just come in here to yank Jess's chain?" 

Dean laughed. "I came in here to yank Jess's chain. Consider it yanked, midget." 

"You want a war, you got one." Jess took a step, as if he were going to go around the counter. Luke caught his collar. 

"Dean, hit the road. Jess, take five. Get in the back and cool off. Then you run your ass over to school, too." 

"Fine!" Jess threw up his hands. "Whatever." He pointed at Dean. "This isn't over." 

"Have a nice day," Dean said. He left. 

At the window table, Miss Patty and Babette exchanged a smile. Today was the first day of their new diet, but they were halfhearted; secretly, both were thinking of asking for Rory's pancakes. Watching the boys duel for Rory's favor was a welcome distraction. Patty looked down at the table top; it was covered in crumbs. "Oh," she sighed, her stomach growling, "if I didn't know better, I'd say those boys were into each other." 

"What?" asked Babette. Miss Patty had been in show business, and had a lot of unusual ideas. 

"Homo eroticism is very big these days," Miss Patty observed. She was up on all the latest trends. 

Babette dunked her toast in her coffee. It got too soggy, and fell in. With disgust, she pushed her coffee cup away. "It's all about the girl, sugar. Remember when we were young?" 

"I remember," Miss Patty said. She drummed her fingers on the table, thinking, _pancakes_. She didn't even _like_ pancakes. She was so darn hungry! "And it's never about the girl." 

"Is _somebody_ going to eat these pancakes?" Felix called plaintively.   


Rory collapsed into her seat on the bus, panting, the taste of Jess's kiss still in her mouth. She hauled her heavy backpack up on the seat beside her, unzipped it, and starting rooting around for her book. While she had missed the nuances of the conversation between Jess and Dean, she hadn't missed Jess's analysis of her eating habits. "Let's eliminate the middleman," she grumped. She looked at her reflection in the window. "Like he'd still want to get in my pants if I was _fat_." 

See? There were some things Rory understood perfectly well.   
  
**** **To Be Continued**


End file.
